Cyprus
From IBWiki
Administration
Cyprus is a dominion within the Commonwealth of Nations, and therefore Queen Diana is its head of state. The country is in the unique position of having one government with two prime ministers, one each from Greek and Turkish extraction, acting as a duumvirate.
The legislative body of Cyprus is a bicameral parliament, the Senate, each chamber representing both populations. It has 56 members representing each district in the country. In the absence of the queen, the presidents of both chambers of the Senate fulfill her ceremonial duties. There are currently proposals to create an appointed chamber called the Council of the State, where there are one member for each town with a population of at least 7,500.
The current prime ministers of Cyprus are Paulos Glafkos-Klerides and Kemal Türk. The president of the Greek Senate, Nana Papathassaniou, was elected in 2004 and is the first female Senate President in the country's history.
There is lots of local autonomy for the various Greek and Turkish townships.
History
Cyprus has a history as rich and varied as any culture of the Eastern Mediterranean. It was occupied following Great War I to provide stability and a base for the Commonwealth of Nations.
At the height of Greek power during GWII, Greek holdings included not just Constantinople, but also large portions of present-day Turkey. Greece also controlled parts of Cyprus, and set up a "Regency for the Kingdom of Cyprus". When the German- Russian alliance fell apart, Greece reluctantly sided with Germany. A separate peace treaty was signed with the Western allies in 1947, in which Greece returned the parts of Cyprus that it held and much of Anatolia.
There was a coup in the 1970s, supported by the ruling junta of Greece, putting a pro-Greek party in power, which staged a phony referendum calling for unification with Greece. Upon the declaration of this unification, the Commonwealth of Nations and Turkey participated in an allied invasion of Cyprus, forcing the Greeks to leave. Turkey also took the opportunity to push the Greeks out of Anatolia.
In 2003, King Paul II of Greece formally apologized to Cyprus for this event.
See: http://www.bethisad.com/commonwealth.htm
[PB, JvS]
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| English Members | |||
| Calcutta | Cape Green | Cyprus | East Caribbean Province | England | English Australia | English Guyana | Gibraltar | Goodyear Island | Hong Kong | Kingdom of Mauritius | Mosquito Coast | Providence Islands | The Salomon Islands | The Seychelles | Socotra | Saint Thomas and Prince | Southwest Africa | Swan Islands | Wallace Cay | |||
| Scottish Members | |||
| Bombay | East Caribbean Province | Kingsland | Scotland | |||
| Cambrian Members | |||
| Ascension Island | Cambrian Arctic Ocean Territory | Cambrian Guyana | Cambrian Indian Ocean Territory | Kemr | New Kemr di'll Ostr | Madras | Rhodesia | Tortuga Islands | West Caribbean Province | |||
| Other Full members | |||
| Aotearoa | Fiji | Grand Fenwick | Indo-British Union | Madagascar | Malta | Margarita Islands | NAL | South Africa | Somer Islands | Tahiti | Toga | |||
| Associate Members | |||
| Alyaska | Armorica | Bharatij Samrazj | Bengal | Ireland (including Guereintia) | Oregon | Thiruvithankur | Xrivizaja |
